Saturday, April 23, 2011

News----Someone's MA Thesis Begins In These Acid Free Boxes

Andrew G. Curtin Association of Army Nurses Records, Center for The Study of The History of Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania Historical Sketch. The Andrew G. Curtin Association of Army Nurses was composed of Philadelphia-area nurses who served in the Civil War. The Association was founded as the Army Nurse Association of Philadelphia on 24 May 1895 to provide for members in need and to hold social activities supporting such work. The first recorded name change is recorded in the Association's minutes of 24 April 1898 with no discussion preceding the change. Summary. This collection documents the activities of the Association from its founding until the close of its minutes in 1903. Although sketchy, the minutes describe many of the groups activities, including membership, fundraising, and support for its members. A printed testimonial of Annie Wittenmyer, active in the Civil War and past president of the Women's Relief Corp is included with some undated minutes of the Association on the verso. Also included are Mary J. Fox's recollections of her experience in the Civil War and of other members of her family who served in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

Freedmen's Hospital was established in 1865 as the Freedmen's Bureau for the "relief of freed men and refugees" by the War Department of the United States. This was due in part to the many freed slaves who migrated to Washington D.C. following the Civil War. Four years after the hospital's founding, they relocated to the campus of Howard University. The School of Nursing was founded in 1894 as an eighteen month program which was later expanded two years. In 1909, the length of study was increased to three years. In the early twentieth century, the school affiliated with a number of institutions in the Washington area in addition to Howard, such as the Gallanger Municipal Hospital and the D.C. General Hospital. The hospital phased out the school and graduated its last class in 1973.

Howard University opened their baccalaureate school of nursing the following year to replace Freedmen's. Over Freedmen's 79 year period, it graduated 1,700 nurses. The Freedmen's Hospital Nurses Alumni Clubs, based in Washington D.C. coordinates local clubs around the country. The Freedmen's Hospital Nurses Alumni Club of Philadelphia, founded in 1966, was established to promote goodwill among its graduates, to participate in the community health and cultural and educational programs, and to support the scholarship fund of the Freedmen's (and later) the Howard University Federation.Summary. This collection includes five folders of miscellaneous materials that document some of the activities of the Philadelphia club. There is also one publication of oral interviews produced by the national office.

Archives Location: Center for the Study of the History of Nursing, School of Nursing, Nursing Education Building, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096;